With the steady rise in home prices and affordability concerns the past few years, buyers are showing a growing willingness to accept trade-offs in order to purchase a home. According to the America at Home Study, they found that in 2025 home buyers were most willing to accept the following trade-offs…
- Smaller home: 40% (up from 21% in 2022)
- Smaller or no garage: 33% (up from 22%)
- Smaller room sizes: 25% (up from 16%)
The study found that buyers appear to be prioritizing features that support health, create cost savings and lessen their environmental footprint over size.
The top features and upgrades they are looking for include…
- Well-equipped, modern kitchen: 29%
- More efficient insulation, HVAC, lighting and appliances: 25%
- Whole house continuous water and air filtration: 22%
- Solar battery storage or back-up power generator: 18%
Today’s buyers are trading space for community and connection. The top five community features buyers are looking for are…
- Access to nature: 54%
- Walkability to coffee shops and cafes: 49%
- Trails: 48%
- Small neighborhood parks with seating and shade: 45%
- Large regional parks and open space with fields and green areas: 44%
These are the very things my clients have been looking for since I became a Realtor over 25 years ago, features that were hard to track down back then. Today more buyers are willing to trade home and yard size for parks, trails and everyday places where they are known… a sense of connection to community and neighbors and a sense of safety.
Sharlene Hensrud, RE/MAX Results – shensrud@homesmsp.com
